Bottle closure



Aug. 25, 942 5 WHEATON ETAL 2,294,260

BOTTLE CLOSURE;

Filed NOV. 1, 1959 INVENTORS :IMWHEATON, C-A-WARNER.

BYfpV.a/'

Patented Aug. 25, 1942 BOTTLE CLOSURE Jack M. Wheaten and Corless A. Warner, Toledo,

Ohio, assignors to Owens-Illinois Glass Company, a corporation of Ohio Application November 1, 1939, Serial No. 302,340

1 Claim.

The present invention relates to improvements in bottle closures and more particularly to a dust cap which fits over the primary seal until the latter is removed by the consumer and thereafter is utilized as a reseal or temporary closure.

An object of our invention is the provision of a closure ofthe above character which is formed of a frangible plastic material and is of suchdimensions and contour that it has universal application to containers of a given general dimension irrespective of whether the neck diameter is oversize or undersize within certain specified permissible limits.

A further object of our invention is the provision of a closure formed from a synthetic resin or like material including means for insuring relatively snug fitting thereof over the neck of a container both prior to and following removal of theprimary seal. To this end the attaching flange or skirt of the closure includes tapered internal projections which cooperate with a head on the container in such fashion that a constant downward pull is exerted upon the closure tending to bring and maintain the top of the latter in contact with the primary seal, or in the event the latter has been removed, with the sealing surface of the neck of the container.

Other objects will be in part apparent and in part pointed'out hereinafter.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary side elevational view showing our closure'operatively-positioned upon the neck of a container.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional elevational view showing the closure fitted upon the neck of a container, the primary seal of which has not been removed.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 illustrating the manner in which the tapered interior surfaces operate to bring the closure into engagement with the sealing surface of the container following removal of the primary seal.

Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view of the closure.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 5-5 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary internal elevational view of the attaching flange or skirt and one of the tapered projections or lugs.

Our invention is illustrated in conjunction with a container neck I0 which includes an annular wall ll defining a filling and discharging opening [2, said wall terminating in an annular sealing surface l3 or finish which is engaged with a primary seal [4 or cap, the latter in the the usual crown cap. An annular downwardly facing ledge IS in proximity to the sealing surface I3, is designed'for holding engagement with the cap 14. A relatively wide annular bead l6 immediately below said ledge I5 and above a supporting ring I1 is intended for cooperation with devices on a dust cap I8 for releasably holding the latter in operative position.

Owing to the fact that it is practically impossible to constantly maintain absolute uniformity in the shape and dimensions of the neck and bead portions of glass containers and as a result, variations within certain limits are permissible in accordance with the established standards, it is necessary, in order that a closure of the character disclosed herein may have general application, to so construct it that it can compensate for such variations in the neck diameter and contour as may occur. While a fixed dimension is established, it is standard practice to consider as commercial, any ware which is not over nor under such dimension by more than a few thousandths of an inch. In view of the above, our closure is produced from a frangible plastic material and so constructed that the attaching flange or skirt is sufficiently resilient to accommodate itself to variations in the shape and dimensions of the neck without fracture or splitting. The specific construction includes a top a. l9 which is slightly elliptical in plan and has its marginal portion 20 curved radially outwardand downward to generally conform to the shape of the sealing surface [3. This downwardly curved portion merges into the inwardly curved upper end 2! of the attaching flange or skirt 22 which. likewise is slightly elliptical with its major axis paralleling that of the top. Hi. This attaching flange or skirt is of such length that regardless of whether the primary seal M is in position upon the neck H), the lower end of the flange will not project downwardly beyond the supporta pair of opposed cam faces is/provided for engagement'with the lower inwardly curved surillustrated embodiment, assuming the form of face 24 of the bead l6.

releasably holding the clo- Preferably, the'normal internal diameter along the major axis is slightly greater than the maximum permissible diameter of the container and the normal internal diameter along the minor and the presence of the tapered projections in contact with the bead E5, the closure is at all times being subjected to a downward pull which brings the top thereof into engagement with either the primary seal or the sealing surface of the container.

In the event the bottle neck and bead are absolutely accurate in shape and dimensions, ap-

plication of the closure I8 will shorten the major aids and lengthen the minor axis so that the attaching flange may possibly assume the form of a perfect circle. If however, the bead i5 is slightly oversize, the minor axis which extends through the projections 23, will be considerably lengthened and the final position of the closure will be such that the major and minor axes are reversed. On the other hand, should the bead l6 be undersize as to diameter, there may be but little change in the initial shape of the attaching flange, such change being only momentary and occurring as the projections or bosses ride over the high point of the annular bead it.

As brought out heretofore, the specific form of the projections or bosses 23, together" with their particular relationship to the bead l5, results in the exertion of a continuous downward pull upon the closure as a whole, resulting in snug contact between top of the latter and the primary seal or finish of the container;

' Modifications may be resorted to within the spirit and scope of the appended claim.

We claim:

A molded closure formed of frangible plastic material and comprising a top portion, an attaching flange depending from the margin of said top portion, and a pair of diametrically opposed tapered bosses formed on the inner face of the attaching flange, each boss being elongated in the direction of the width of said flange and de-- creasing in width and thickness toward the top portion of the closure whereby to compensate for variations in the distance between a bottle finish and an annular bead forming a conventional part of a bottle to which the closure may be applied the degree of taper of the bosses being so related to the flexibility of the closure flange that they will engage the lower portion of in any of several axial positions of the closure.

JACK WHEATON. CORLESS a WARNER.

the annular bead 

